StarFox Fan Fiction ❯ Fire and Ice ❯ Chapter V: Connections ( Chapter 5 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Voice in the Night 
Non Anime: StarFox Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Sci-fi | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 11.02.2007 | Pages: 1 | Words: 2.1K | Visits: 244 | Status: Completed
Non Anime: StarFox Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Sci-fi | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 11.02.2007 | Pages: 1 | Words: 2.1K | Visits: 244 | Status: Completed
Downtown Corneria: 2375 (Five years after Starfox)
Fay and Miyu walked down the street, and Fay wondered just what had come over them these past few weeks. It was one thing to have applied for the Academy, but to pass as some of the best pilots, then to have applied for Starfox...what was happening to her an Miyu?
"Do you really think that was a good idea?" Fay murmured to Miyu.
Miyu stopped and turned to face Fay, tilting her head. "What do you mean?" she asked.
"I mean us applying for Starfox," Fay said. "Firstly, we'll be seen out in public again for the first time in ten years....that, to me, just has "really bad idea" written all over it, and secondly, we're applying for Starfox, of all things! I mean, it was one thing to get into the Academy...that was kinda cool, actually. But I never expected it to amount to anything, let alone best pilots in our class. And besides, Starfox has acquired a certain reputation, right?"
Miyu pulled Fay into an embrace. "Shh, shh. It's all going to be all right. We are different people, radically different, than we were ten years ago. We don't need anybody's opinions. I don't care what they think about us. Let 'em! It can't affect us unless we let it. And as for Starfox, if anything gets too crazy, I'll protect you. You know that..." she said.
Fay smiled, playing with Miyu's earring. "I know, Miyu. You've always been there for me, and you always will."
________________________________________________________________ _______
Fox groaned, running a hand through his headfur as he looked with chagrin at the massive pile of letters, resumes, and application papers that were piled on his desk. "Falco, buddy, you talk too much," Fox sighed, shaking his head. Falco had let it slip at a recent press conference that the team had received new experimental fighters to replace their old ones, and that they were looking for two members to fill the slots. Almost instantly there had been a flood of mail. Some were from students at the Academy, looking to join the most prestigious military group in the galaxy. Some were from avid fans just looking for an autograph. And a third batch were from Fox's good friends Bill Grey and General Pepper, offering their personal suggestions. Fox had briefly considered asking the commander himself to join his team, but Bill was happy where he was, leading two of the elite squadrons of the Cornerian Air Force.
"So I talk too much," Falco replied, waving a hand dismissively. "It's the truth. We need two more pilots."
"Yeah, I know," Fox sighed. "I just wish I could choose, ya know? I'm not trying to be elitist here, just practical. Being part of the first line of defense for Corneria is not as easy or glamorous as most people think. The pilots we pick have to be the right people for the job, not just any Joe Schmoe from off the street."
Falco grinned and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Don't worry about it, buddy. The right answer will come to ya. It always does."
Fox smiled. "Yeah, you're right. Thanks, pal."
"Anytime," Falco said as he walked out.
Fox looked out the window at the skyline of Corneria City and exhaled. Things were so much simpler in space. 'Maybe I should just start fresh with a new batch of candidates,' Fox thought. He had already flipped through the most promising candidates, and even had interviewed the better ones, but no one had what he was looking for. He needed a strong team dynamic; most of the interviewees were more concerned about what they could get out of it, not how they would be helping Corneria, and all of Lylat. 'Wait. Maybe this last pair might hold some promise,' he thought. He looked to the bottom of his list--he had formed a list of promising candidates, and all of them had been scratched off, except these two--and tapped their names with his pen. "Miyu Lynx, and Fay Spaniel," he murmured. It was strange, though, Fox got mixed responses from people he had asked about the two potential pilots. Bill Grey and other Cornerians from his and Fox's generation seemed not to have heard about the two before at all. The older Cornerians acquired a strange look of disapproval when they heard the two girls' names mentioned. "Don't hire them, you'll be making a big mistake," was the prevalent response. Even General Pepper had expressed some concern about Fox thinking that they should be included into the team. "I wouldn't, if I were you," Pepper had said. Fox wondered why the older Cornerians were so disapproving of the two girls. Only Peppy had spoken positively about them. He had heard that they performed admirably in the sims, and were good scorers in their academic tests, as well. The other candidates he had interviewed, while some had excellent marks in piloting skill, had sub-par marks in several other areas. Fox blinked, realizing suddenly that Fay and Miyu's names sounded familiar to him. Where had he heard them before? 'Didn't Dad mention something about these two?' he wondered, becoming more sure of the fact. But he couldn't remember what his father had said about the girls. 'It's probably nothing,' Fox thought.
Suddenly there was a knock at the entrance to Fox's office. "Come in," he called, and the door smoothly hissed open, granting two furres access to his office. When they stepped into the room, Fox nearly fell out of his chair in shock. Being a mercenary on an all-male squadron had some disadvantages, and being exposed to little to no female company in several years was one of them. The result was that Fox wasn't exactly able to hide his feelings that well. "Uh--sit down, and we can get started," Fox stated, completely at a loss for words. Fox was torn between admiring their beauty and retaining his professionalism.
The lynx winked at Fox, then sauntered up to one of the chairs, spun it around, then sat on it with her arms draped over the back, leaving Fox stammering in surprise. The spaniel, however, was somewhat more demure. She seemed to be nervous...was it because of the interview, or who it was with? He knew that he had acquired a certain--reputation around Corneria because of his mercenary affiliation, but he always tried to be a gentleman when he was out in public.
Fox noticed that the lynx had an ever-growing smirk on her face, and the spaniel was becoming redder by the second. He realized with a start that he had been staring at them. "S-sorry," he muttered. "Fay, isn't it?" he asked, gesturing to the spaniel. She nodded. "Then you must be Miyu," Fox concluded, receiving a coy smirk in response. "You're here for the interview, I assume."
Miyu rolled her eyes, then smirked at Fox. "No, Foxie, we're here for an autograph."
Fox raised an eyebrow. 'Great. Another Falco.' In an attempt to change the subject, Fox said, "I received your applications; do you have your Academy papers with you?"
The lynx's eyes widened, darting around the room. Her cockiness gone, her mouth formed an O of panic. "Shit!" she hissed, as her hands shot into her pockets, obviously attempting to produce the papers.
The spaniel grinned, winking at Fox. "Don't worry, Miyu's always a little-absent minded. That's why I grabbed both of our sets of papers," she said, and slid them across the table.
Miyu flashed a quick smile at her friend, and mouthed the words "Thank you."
Fox smoothly picked up the girls papers, and he quickly skimmed them, then re-read them. The girls' scores were quite similar, only within a few percentage points of each other. Fox commented on this, and both girls fidgeted uncomfortably.
Fox grinned, hoping that it would put the girls at ease. Why were they so nervous around him? It was more than his reputation, he could tell. It was almost--fear of being around a guy in general. "Don't worry," he said, smiling. "I'm not judging you. I just am curious as to how you scored so closely on about every subject."
Fay clamped her mouth shut, then became very fixated on her earrings, which Fox noticed were a series of sapphires, which accented her eyes ni-- 'Wait a sec, McCloud!' Fox chastised himself. 'You just met these two. You're gonna be a perfect gentleman around them!'
Miyu, noticing her friend's inability to speak, spoke for her. "We, uh, we help each other in the areas that we're not so good in. It just works out that Fay's good in stuff I could use some help in, and vice-versa," she said, tracing a line on the floor with her boot. Fox wondered why when the girls gestured, it was always with the same hand--Fay with her left, Miyu with her right. He looked over the desk and saw that the two girls were tightly clasping hands, and that they were trembling. 'What is going--' Fox began, and then realization struck. "Oh, damn," he muttered. He chastised himself for not seeing it before. The scars on their faces and arms, their reticence around him... He pressed a button on his desk and the door slid shut, which caused Fay and Miyu to jump. Fox quickly held out his hands. "Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you!" he said in an urgent tone. He had to reassure them. With a few more keystrokes, he disabled all the communications devices that were monitoring the interview. "I don't want anyone else finding out who you are, or there might be trouble," he said, leaving Fay and Miyu looking at him in surprise.
'He couldn't--could he?' Miyu thought.
'It's him! I knew it!'
"The trial was rigged," Fox murmured softly.
Fay yipped, and Miyu gasped. "What? How did you--?"
Fox sighed, running a hand through his headfur. "My father, James McCloud, was there that day. He stood up for you when no one else would. He didn't know why the trial went as it did, and neither do I, but I just want you to know that both he and I believe your side of the story."
Both Fay and Miyu looked at Fox, and a slow smile came to Fay's muzzle. Miyu gave Fox a lopsided smile. Fay reached forward and placed her small hand on Fox's cheek. If it had been possible, Fox would have sworn he would have melted at the spaniel's soft touch. As it was, it was all he could do to keep his professional composure. "Thank you," she murmured.
"We're getting used to it," Miyu said softly, smiling gently at Fox. "The disapproving stares and the whispers behind our backs don't affect us as much anymore," she said. "Just...Fox?"
"Yeah?" he replied.
"Promise us you won't give us any special favors now that you know who we are," she said softly. "We can take criticism, we won't tolerate pity, though."
Fox smiled. "You have my word. You'll get the job only if you're qualified enough," he said with a smirk. For some strange reason, he was more confident around these two girls than any others he had met.
Fay giggled. "You know, under any other circumstances, that might be construed as an insult, but here, it's a compliment," she grinned.
Fox smiled. "I'll get back to you on this," he said, taking their papers in his hands and tapping them against the desk to align them. Fay and Miyu rose; Fay waved on her way out, and Miyu winked playfully at Fox.
Fox put his hands behind his head and leaned back in his chair, placing his boots on his desk. Once he was sure Fay and Miyu were out of earshot, he whistled slowly. 'So, that's how the other half looks, huh?' he thought wryly, then mentally slapped himself. 'Come on, Fox! Pull it together! You're not hiring these two so you can snag some free eye-candy! They're competent pilots. And, they need some stability in their lives right now,' he thought. 'Let's just hope I can give them a start in turning their lives around.'
Fay and Miyu walked down the street, and Fay wondered just what had come over them these past few weeks. It was one thing to have applied for the Academy, but to pass as some of the best pilots, then to have applied for Starfox...what was happening to her an Miyu?
"Do you really think that was a good idea?" Fay murmured to Miyu.
Miyu stopped and turned to face Fay, tilting her head. "What do you mean?" she asked.
"I mean us applying for Starfox," Fay said. "Firstly, we'll be seen out in public again for the first time in ten years....that, to me, just has "really bad idea" written all over it, and secondly, we're applying for Starfox, of all things! I mean, it was one thing to get into the Academy...that was kinda cool, actually. But I never expected it to amount to anything, let alone best pilots in our class. And besides, Starfox has acquired a certain reputation, right?"
Miyu pulled Fay into an embrace. "Shh, shh. It's all going to be all right. We are different people, radically different, than we were ten years ago. We don't need anybody's opinions. I don't care what they think about us. Let 'em! It can't affect us unless we let it. And as for Starfox, if anything gets too crazy, I'll protect you. You know that..." she said.
Fay smiled, playing with Miyu's earring. "I know, Miyu. You've always been there for me, and you always will."
________________________________________________________________ _______
Fox groaned, running a hand through his headfur as he looked with chagrin at the massive pile of letters, resumes, and application papers that were piled on his desk. "Falco, buddy, you talk too much," Fox sighed, shaking his head. Falco had let it slip at a recent press conference that the team had received new experimental fighters to replace their old ones, and that they were looking for two members to fill the slots. Almost instantly there had been a flood of mail. Some were from students at the Academy, looking to join the most prestigious military group in the galaxy. Some were from avid fans just looking for an autograph. And a third batch were from Fox's good friends Bill Grey and General Pepper, offering their personal suggestions. Fox had briefly considered asking the commander himself to join his team, but Bill was happy where he was, leading two of the elite squadrons of the Cornerian Air Force.
"So I talk too much," Falco replied, waving a hand dismissively. "It's the truth. We need two more pilots."
"Yeah, I know," Fox sighed. "I just wish I could choose, ya know? I'm not trying to be elitist here, just practical. Being part of the first line of defense for Corneria is not as easy or glamorous as most people think. The pilots we pick have to be the right people for the job, not just any Joe Schmoe from off the street."
Falco grinned and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Don't worry about it, buddy. The right answer will come to ya. It always does."
Fox smiled. "Yeah, you're right. Thanks, pal."
"Anytime," Falco said as he walked out.
Fox looked out the window at the skyline of Corneria City and exhaled. Things were so much simpler in space. 'Maybe I should just start fresh with a new batch of candidates,' Fox thought. He had already flipped through the most promising candidates, and even had interviewed the better ones, but no one had what he was looking for. He needed a strong team dynamic; most of the interviewees were more concerned about what they could get out of it, not how they would be helping Corneria, and all of Lylat. 'Wait. Maybe this last pair might hold some promise,' he thought. He looked to the bottom of his list--he had formed a list of promising candidates, and all of them had been scratched off, except these two--and tapped their names with his pen. "Miyu Lynx, and Fay Spaniel," he murmured. It was strange, though, Fox got mixed responses from people he had asked about the two potential pilots. Bill Grey and other Cornerians from his and Fox's generation seemed not to have heard about the two before at all. The older Cornerians acquired a strange look of disapproval when they heard the two girls' names mentioned. "Don't hire them, you'll be making a big mistake," was the prevalent response. Even General Pepper had expressed some concern about Fox thinking that they should be included into the team. "I wouldn't, if I were you," Pepper had said. Fox wondered why the older Cornerians were so disapproving of the two girls. Only Peppy had spoken positively about them. He had heard that they performed admirably in the sims, and were good scorers in their academic tests, as well. The other candidates he had interviewed, while some had excellent marks in piloting skill, had sub-par marks in several other areas. Fox blinked, realizing suddenly that Fay and Miyu's names sounded familiar to him. Where had he heard them before? 'Didn't Dad mention something about these two?' he wondered, becoming more sure of the fact. But he couldn't remember what his father had said about the girls. 'It's probably nothing,' Fox thought.
Suddenly there was a knock at the entrance to Fox's office. "Come in," he called, and the door smoothly hissed open, granting two furres access to his office. When they stepped into the room, Fox nearly fell out of his chair in shock. Being a mercenary on an all-male squadron had some disadvantages, and being exposed to little to no female company in several years was one of them. The result was that Fox wasn't exactly able to hide his feelings that well. "Uh--sit down, and we can get started," Fox stated, completely at a loss for words. Fox was torn between admiring their beauty and retaining his professionalism.
The lynx winked at Fox, then sauntered up to one of the chairs, spun it around, then sat on it with her arms draped over the back, leaving Fox stammering in surprise. The spaniel, however, was somewhat more demure. She seemed to be nervous...was it because of the interview, or who it was with? He knew that he had acquired a certain--reputation around Corneria because of his mercenary affiliation, but he always tried to be a gentleman when he was out in public.
Fox noticed that the lynx had an ever-growing smirk on her face, and the spaniel was becoming redder by the second. He realized with a start that he had been staring at them. "S-sorry," he muttered. "Fay, isn't it?" he asked, gesturing to the spaniel. She nodded. "Then you must be Miyu," Fox concluded, receiving a coy smirk in response. "You're here for the interview, I assume."
Miyu rolled her eyes, then smirked at Fox. "No, Foxie, we're here for an autograph."
Fox raised an eyebrow. 'Great. Another Falco.' In an attempt to change the subject, Fox said, "I received your applications; do you have your Academy papers with you?"
The lynx's eyes widened, darting around the room. Her cockiness gone, her mouth formed an O of panic. "Shit!" she hissed, as her hands shot into her pockets, obviously attempting to produce the papers.
The spaniel grinned, winking at Fox. "Don't worry, Miyu's always a little-absent minded. That's why I grabbed both of our sets of papers," she said, and slid them across the table.
Miyu flashed a quick smile at her friend, and mouthed the words "Thank you."
Fox smoothly picked up the girls papers, and he quickly skimmed them, then re-read them. The girls' scores were quite similar, only within a few percentage points of each other. Fox commented on this, and both girls fidgeted uncomfortably.
Fox grinned, hoping that it would put the girls at ease. Why were they so nervous around him? It was more than his reputation, he could tell. It was almost--fear of being around a guy in general. "Don't worry," he said, smiling. "I'm not judging you. I just am curious as to how you scored so closely on about every subject."
Fay clamped her mouth shut, then became very fixated on her earrings, which Fox noticed were a series of sapphires, which accented her eyes ni-- 'Wait a sec, McCloud!' Fox chastised himself. 'You just met these two. You're gonna be a perfect gentleman around them!'
Miyu, noticing her friend's inability to speak, spoke for her. "We, uh, we help each other in the areas that we're not so good in. It just works out that Fay's good in stuff I could use some help in, and vice-versa," she said, tracing a line on the floor with her boot. Fox wondered why when the girls gestured, it was always with the same hand--Fay with her left, Miyu with her right. He looked over the desk and saw that the two girls were tightly clasping hands, and that they were trembling. 'What is going--' Fox began, and then realization struck. "Oh, damn," he muttered. He chastised himself for not seeing it before. The scars on their faces and arms, their reticence around him... He pressed a button on his desk and the door slid shut, which caused Fay and Miyu to jump. Fox quickly held out his hands. "Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you!" he said in an urgent tone. He had to reassure them. With a few more keystrokes, he disabled all the communications devices that were monitoring the interview. "I don't want anyone else finding out who you are, or there might be trouble," he said, leaving Fay and Miyu looking at him in surprise.
'He couldn't--could he?' Miyu thought.
'It's him! I knew it!'
"The trial was rigged," Fox murmured softly.
Fay yipped, and Miyu gasped. "What? How did you--?"
Fox sighed, running a hand through his headfur. "My father, James McCloud, was there that day. He stood up for you when no one else would. He didn't know why the trial went as it did, and neither do I, but I just want you to know that both he and I believe your side of the story."
Both Fay and Miyu looked at Fox, and a slow smile came to Fay's muzzle. Miyu gave Fox a lopsided smile. Fay reached forward and placed her small hand on Fox's cheek. If it had been possible, Fox would have sworn he would have melted at the spaniel's soft touch. As it was, it was all he could do to keep his professional composure. "Thank you," she murmured.
"We're getting used to it," Miyu said softly, smiling gently at Fox. "The disapproving stares and the whispers behind our backs don't affect us as much anymore," she said. "Just...Fox?"
"Yeah?" he replied.
"Promise us you won't give us any special favors now that you know who we are," she said softly. "We can take criticism, we won't tolerate pity, though."
Fox smiled. "You have my word. You'll get the job only if you're qualified enough," he said with a smirk. For some strange reason, he was more confident around these two girls than any others he had met.
Fay giggled. "You know, under any other circumstances, that might be construed as an insult, but here, it's a compliment," she grinned.
Fox smiled. "I'll get back to you on this," he said, taking their papers in his hands and tapping them against the desk to align them. Fay and Miyu rose; Fay waved on her way out, and Miyu winked playfully at Fox.
Fox put his hands behind his head and leaned back in his chair, placing his boots on his desk. Once he was sure Fay and Miyu were out of earshot, he whistled slowly. 'So, that's how the other half looks, huh?' he thought wryly, then mentally slapped himself. 'Come on, Fox! Pull it together! You're not hiring these two so you can snag some free eye-candy! They're competent pilots. And, they need some stability in their lives right now,' he thought. 'Let's just hope I can give them a start in turning their lives around.'